Toyota Under Fire for Hybrid Technology Patent Infringement

Toyota Under Fire for Hybrid Technology patent infringement

"A technology company is taking aim at Toyota, saying that the company's gas-electric hybrid Prius and Highlander vehicles infringe on its U.S. patents. Solomon Technologies, Inc. announced today that it has expanded its litigation"

http://www.autoserviceworld.com/issues/ISArticle.asp?id=51432&issue=01112006
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...,067,932.WKU.&OS=PN/5,067,932&RS=PN/5,067,932

It seems to be a patent for an electrical motor versus a true hyrbid, but I didn't have time to read the whole thing.

Time will tell. I believe this is called a test case. If the guy could win in court, mucho money involved. I wonder why he's not including Honda in there? The also utilize a similar system. Also, the ford escape utilizes licensed technology from toyo.

== Anyone remember the patent infringement cases against the auto makers regarding intermittent wipers? Guy won that one.

Also, anybody remember the suit against disney about the sports park infringement? Guy won that one too.

Big money in both cases.

Bad moon rising.

IT looks like they may actually have a claim.... If you interpret their patent after looking at the Toyota design. Looking at the description in claim #21, I don't think that I would build the Toyota design. I'd build an entirely different design.

The drawings submitted with the patent did not seem to cover the Toyota implementation. They seemed to be related to using a differential. I did not find them real clear.

I have to wonder why they waited till 2005 to file suit, since Toyota has publicly been advertising their design since the late 1990s. Maybe they were waiting till the technology was proven to get a bigger settlement?

Daniel

Sleestak,
We prefer you use a link when you have that amount of info. that's copied. Bandwidth is always an issue.

I didn't read it but copyright may or may not be an issue as well.

Just a heads up.

DieselDave said:

Sleestak,
We prefer you use a link when you have that amount of info. that's copied. Bandwidth is always an issue.

I didn't read it but copyright may or may not be an issue as well.

Just a heads up.

Click to expand...

I have to apologize for that. I read the rules before I came back here, and saw that the limit is approximately 100 words. I just threw it up before thinking that nobody is really going to read through all of that stuff anyway.

Won't happen again, and I'm going to take out the text in an edit.

Thanks for the heads up!

Hmmm ... I ordered a Prius in December - gets here in a week or two. Hope this guy doesn't come after me for using a Prius like SCO went after IBM et. al. for using Linux!

With reguard to the intermittent wiper lawsuit - didn't the guy who won die before it was finally settled in his favor?

Welcome to the Pruis club, GalvanickLucifer! I hope you enjoy yours like I enjoy mine.

SCO was at least able to claim that IBM had infringed by releasing SCO trade secrets; End users were not sued. They did manage to panic some companies into using Microsoft instead of Linux for a while. Strange that MS financed SCO at that time. Of course, the SCO claim was bogus, but that's another discussion.

If Solomon Technologies does win, they will simply get compensation.

Personally, I'd erally have to wonder. I've been watching the Hybrid development from the first announcements. I've known of the interior design of the Prius CVT since at least 2000. I can't imagine holding Solomon's patent and not avidly watching every CVT that comes on the market. I can't imagine standing by for all those years.

The intermitant wiper guy had a different case. He made the mistake of marketing the device before he got the patent. He evidently failed to get a non disclosure agreement. He got a judgement for millions from Ford and Chrysler, but blew the paperwork on the others.

I would expect Toyota to make some token settlement.

Daniel